DOS
The Irene in the photographs looked very young, scarcely over twenty, and her appearance very inexperienced. Although her face was beautiful, her eyes were slack and her cheeks red, as if she had been drugged by someone.
She was wearing only an open white shirt, her bare legs completely visible, and the red marks on her chest even more distinct. The photographs all had the same background, with only the positions having changed, and the further down, the more unbearable...
Lisa remembered when she first met Irene that the other was also in this kind of sorry state, stumbling out after escaping from a hotel room, crashing right into her chest.
Were these photographs taken at that time? Or even earlier?
Originally, it wouldn't be such a big deal if these kinds of pictures were taken of a woman, but Irene was a public figure after all, and was even now embroiled in another scandal, so if these photos actually got out, then Irene would be ruined.
When Lisa thought of that, she almost wasn't able to hold onto the cellphone, but she simply closed her eyes and very quickly regained her calm, lowering her head to investigate the phone number that sent the texts.
"It's an unknown number." Upon seeing that this matter couldn't be hidden, Irene also joined her.
Lisa nodded and carefully thought back, confirming that she indeed hadn't seen it before.
"Don't worry, the other party probably just wants to give me a warning, letting me know that I should stay away from a certain someone. Or else they could've just directly posted it on the internet instead of specially sending it to me."
Irene patted Lisa's hand and took her cellphone back, flipping through each of the photographs and saying with a smile, "Don't you think that my physique is much better now than it used to be?"
Even at this kind of time, Lisa was still amused to laughter by her. "That's true. In the past, you were much too skinny. You've fattened up quite a bit now."
"Then maybe I should go shoot a pin-up collection23? It could act as a good comparison for these photos." Irene felt quite pleased hearing this.
Seeing this person act so calm and easy, with every word trying to comfort her, Lisa didn't know how to express what she was feeling, but she suddenly reached out a hand and pulled Irene tightly into an embrace. Since she used too much strength, the other's back ended up a bit sore, but Irene didn't protest, allowing her to hug like this.
Only after a long while did Lisa slowly re-adjust her mood. She rubbed her chin against Irene's neck.
"I'm going to the balcony to make a call."
"OK."
"Delete all the photos on your cellphone."
"Huh? I can't keep them to admire for myself?"
Lisa ignored her, using a hand to grab the cellphone and, within moments, cleanly deleted all the photos. Only then did she loosen her hold, standing up and heading towards the balcony. In one move, she dialed her dad's phone number.
Mr. Manoban had always been willing to take responsibility for his actions, but when Lisa asked about the matter of the photographs, he actually denied it.
"Does it really have nothing to do with you?" Lisa still didn't believe him and continued to ask.
"The moment that Irene comes up, you can't keep your cool." Mr. Manoban laughed on the other line, "Other than me, isn't it possible that there are other people she's offended?"
For a moment, Lisa really couldn't think of any.
Perhaps Mr. Manoban was in a good mood as he very considerately reminded, "Even with my temperament, I can't accept my own daughter being together with a woman. Then how about the Kim family's most pampered? Wouldn't they know Irene's past? Right now, matters have gotten so big, so would his family just leave it alone?"
Lisa was finally enlightened.
She had originally thought it strange, since there were plenty of people to choose from if her father wanted to spread rumors about a sex scandal with Irene, so why was Director Kim specifically targeted? And now she understood the reasoning behind it.
Right now, the one who held power in the Kim family was Jun Cotton's youngest uncle. It was said that when this uncle was young, he was ignorant and incompetent, spending all his days hanging out with gangsters, angering the Kim family patriarch so much that he was kicked out of the family.
Later, no one knew how it happened, but after a few years, he actually made an impressive return and even seized authority over the Kim family corporation into HYPE entertainment. But he never got rid of his gangster habits, having no qualms with running amuck even in the business world, always taking his little gang subordinates everywhere, even to banquets.
Mr. Manoban had his dignity, and no matter how he disliked Irene, he also wouldn't use these kinds of lowlife methods. But that surnamed Kim wasn't the same way; if someone pissed him off, then he was capable of doing anything.
Mr. Manoban knew this, so he had intentionally stirred up the sex scandal between Irene and Jun Cotton.
Letting someone else do his dirty work.
And Mr. Manoban still insisted on putting on a good person act, even advising on the other end.
"If you're willing to bow your head now, then I still have time to make things clear, or else once these photos make it to the internet, even I can't do anything about them anymore."
Lisa stiffly inhaled a long breath and then politely said goodbye, scowling at her phone as she hung up. She couldn't blame the other person for having such a skilled plan, only herself for being too careless.
She also didn't plan to tell Irene about this matter, afraid that the moment she said it, Irene wouldn't take it as a big deal and would even applaud Mr. Manoban for the other's skill.
Lisa stood on that balcony by herself for a long while before going back inside.
Upon seeing Irene still watching TV, she turned it off, "It's late now, so you should sleep a bit earlier."
"Huh?" Irene stared blankly and said, "It's not even ten o'clock yet right now."
"Sleep."
Lisa said only this one simple word and, uncaring about whether or not Irene was willing, dragged the other person into the bedroom.
Irene didn't have a choice and so obediently changed her clothes and laid down on the bed.
Lisa pulled up the blankets, tightly wrapped her up, and softly brushed aside the pitch-black hair on her forehead, gently saying, "Sleep then."
"What about you?"
"I need to go back in a while. I'll come back later to see you."
"If your work's too busy, then you don't need to come."
Lisa didn't reply, simply using the palm of her hand to cover Irene's eyes, tone still as gentle as before, "Quickly sleep." Irene then actually closed her eyes.
Lisa waited for her to fall deeply asleep before using her fingers to stroke her delicate features for a moment. Then, she reached out a hand to turn off the wall light and soundlessly exited the room.
It was already getting late, but she didn't return home to rest. Instead, she fished out her cellphone and made another call.
This time, after she hung up, her original gentle expression was nowhere to be found on her face, and what replaced it was a never-before-seen expression of firm resolution.
Lisa had never been as clear-headed as she was now.
Regardless of the past, regardless of the future, and even regardless of whether or not there's love.
Her heart had only Irene.
She simply single-mindedly thought that she wanted to protect this person.
÷÷÷
It wasn't until the third day, at the crack of dawn, that Lisa appeared again.
At the time, the sky still hadn't completely brightened, and Irene was still in the hazy realms of sleep. It wasn't until after she was woken up by the noise of several knocks that she slowly crawled out of bed to open the door. As a result, the moment she opened the door, she saw Lisa leaning against its frame, still wearing the exact same suit she wore two days ago, her eyes so tired they were red while some stubble graced her chin. A faint scent of alcohol could even be smelled on her when she moved closer.
"Why do you look like this? How long since you last slept?" Irene couldn't help but be scared at the sight.
Lisa stepped across the doorway and, in an instant, fell onto Irene, "The matter with those photographs has been resolved."
Irene said an 'oh' and wasn't surprised at all. In fact, she asked, with no small amount of regret, "Then there's no chance of me shooting a pin-up collection now?"
Lisa didn't even have the strength to laugh, simply leaning against her shoulder and saying, "Let me borrow your bed to lie down a bit."
Only then did Irene finally adopt a proper attitude, stowing away her jokes, and helped support her into the bedroom.
With eyes closed, Lisa fell onto the bed. Irene found this funny as she helped her take off her shoes and then covered her with the blanket.
"Sleep with me for a while." Although Lisa's eyes were closed, she still reached out a hand to grab Irene's wrist and, with a bit of effort, dragged the other into an embrace.
Irene looked at the clock nearby, "I still have work today."
"Just two hours is fine." Lisa was as tired as could be and a bit disoriented as a result, but she was still quite strong, holding onto Irene and not letting go.
And how could Irene bear to disappoint her?
So she just laid there against Lisa's chest, pulling up the blankets to wrap up the both of them.
The sky beyond the windows was currently brightening little by little.
Lisa was half-awake and half-asleep, her fingers occasionally brushing against Irene's hair. Irene, however, wasn't the least bit sleepy.
"Did you not sleep for these last two days?"
"No, I just slept a bit less than usual."
"It's just a few photographs, that's all. You didn't have to spend so much effort."
"This matter happened because of me, so of course I also have to be the one to settle it." Lisa was unwilling to discuss this further and said, "We should talk about something else."
"About what?"
"Anything else is fine. You can also sing a lullaby if you want."
Irene laughed out loud. After she finished laughing, she quieted down, ton of news about how HYPE entertainment created train of hates toward Lisa, flash in Irene's mind. But Irene's not saying a word, she didn't want to fanning the flames, she's turning her head to look out the window.
Lisa simply thought that the other didn't want to talk, but when she had waited until she was almost asleep, she heard that soft voice saying, with a hint of hoarseness.
"At that time, I had just turned twenty."
Lisa's heart leapt. No matter how much she craved sleep, the moment she heard those words, she became wide awake. But she didn't speak in fear of disturbing Irene, simply quietly listening beside this person.
"Before my dad's business failed, I thought that all human lives were naturally smooth sailing. I ate well and slept well every day, and the most I ever thought about was how to become a chef in the future... Who could've known that there would come a day later on where everything would suddenly be turned on its head. No matter how our family ran and hide, we were never able to escape those creditors. For a time, what I was most afraid of was hearing the sound of knocking in the middle of the night because this meant that we would have to move again..."
"And then? Your family just abandoned you and fled overseas?"
"Did Wendy tell you?" Irene shook her head, "No, that's wrong, it wasn't that I was abandoned; it was that they had no way to take me with them."
Lisa didn't know how those two statements were any different.
Irene continued with, "In order to pay back the debt, of course I couldn't continue going to school, and the money I earned from work was also just a drop in the bucket. When I was in the most dire straits, I met a certain person."
As Irene spoke, she said a certain name.
Upon hearing it, Lisa frowned. This person's name wasn't unfamiliar, and he could be said to be somewhat famous in the circle. An overly generous description would be that he was a manager, but in reality, he was basically a pimp.
Since meeting him, how could Irene have made any kind of good living?
"At the time, I was in a rush to earn money, so I believed whatever anyone told me. That person said that I would be able to earn money fastest in the entertainment circle, so I just foolishly jumped into it..." Speaking to here, Irene suddenly laughed, "Yes, and that was actually true, just as long as you're willing to lower yourself, to throw away your self-respect and your shame."
Lisa's heart tightened, and the hands she had around Irene's waist trembled slightly.
It wasn't like she knew nothing about Irene's past. Even if the other never mentioned it, she had more or less guessed some of it, but now that she was hearing Irene talk about it as if it wasn't a big deal, she felt an uncontrollable bitterness arise in her mouth.
Irene hadn't been born thick-skinned and invulnerable, flawless and unrivaled; she had simply hidden her own injuries far, far too deeply, not letting anyone else even get a glimpse of it.
Perhaps it was that Lisa's hold had gotten too tight because Irene let out a stifled groan and said, "If you strangle me to death, then you won't be able to hear the rest of the story."
"There's more?"
"The actual climax is what comes next. You also know my temper. In the past, I was surly to the extreme, not even knowing how to fake a smile, so I suffered quite a lot. Until one day..."
Irene closed her eyes, as if she was recalling those events unknown to anyone, her voice lowering close to hoarseness, "A person held out her hand to me. She took off her jacket and draped it over me and told me that I should learn how to smile."
Of course, Lisa knew who that person was.
Her heart felt tight, and she didn't know whether it was from bitterness or sweetness. The only thing she could do was call out, "Irene..."
Irene had been looking out the window this entire time, and only now did she slowly turn back and meet Lisa's gaze. Her eyes seemed to be filled with layers of emotions, like a butterfly leaving its cocoon.
"The present Irene exists now only because the past Irene once existed, isn't that right?"
Lisa couldn't speak, and only after a long while did she say, "But I didn't save you from the abyss of suffering. I simply held out a hand."
Irene began smiling and placed a finger against her lips, "That was already more than enough." Lisa took the chance to kiss that finger.
From that finger, she moved downwards, kissing slowly and meticulously. In the end, those warm lips touched the center of that palm, where that scar resided.
Irene slightly wavered, but she didn't struggle.
Lisa then kissed it, trembling all the while.
Just as if, with incomparable tenderness, she had... kissed Irene's heart.
Irene slept with Lisa for more than two hours, up until it was past 8:30. If she delayed any longer, then hotshot Director Kim might actually throw a fit, so she finally threw off the blankets and got out of bed. Carefully and cautiously, she tucked that person in bed back into the blankets.
Irene thought that Lisa looked extremely amusing like this and really wanted to lower her head to kiss those eyes. But she clenched her right hand and, in the end, endured it.
Standing up, she went to the kitchen and made some century egg and pork congee, adding two light side-dishes alongside it. Before she left, she glanced at her cellphone, finding the message inbox completely empty, all those messed-up things having already been wiped clean.
From beginning to end, she hadn't asked Lisa how the other had taken care of the issue with those photographs.
Just like she had never turned to look back on the road she had once walked.
Sometimes, she'd pause her steps to discover that her feet had long already been drenched in blood.
But what did that matter?
After all, that blood was her own.
Irene closed her eyes and sucked in a breath before putting on her usual smile. She stuffed her cellphone back into her pocket, wrote a note to Lisa, and then left the house.
― 29 ―
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